Self-Injurious Behavior: Overview and Behavioral Interventions

Abstract

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a serious problem for some people with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) which is a common focus of clinical treatment and has received extensive attention in the research literature.This chapter provides an overview of SIB and behavioral approaches to its treatment. Although other approaches to treatment of SIB, such as psychotherapy, counseling, and sensory approaches, may be used in practice, there is little research evidence to review on their efficacy in people with ASDs. Additionally, single-case experiments suggest that reported effects of interventions such as sensory integration with particular individuals may be more parsimoniously explained by the social interaction or reduction in task demands associated with the therapy and that function-based behavioral interventions are equally or more effective in reducing SIB. Hence, this chapter focuses on behavioral interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved). (chapter)